First Entry (aka: Generic Title #1)

It's been some time since I've put any serious effort into a project that wasn't school related. However, for a good portion of my life I've ambled around albums, artists, and various other musical genres. Ever since I discovered music in 2nd grade, my mind subconsciously began to string memories around certain songs like that of a highly caffeinated spider building a web. Like I had alluded to, this web is something rather interesting. It forgoes the traditional two dimensional webs that sustain a certain beauty in the sunlight. It has a three dimensional appearance, and might as well look a mess, but the real strength lies in the connections it has made. Now it's almost predatory, reinforcing my musical tastes with new connections, and catching new songs and stringing them to another memory.
This blog will serve to bounce around in this web and examine these connections. I'm interested to see what will come of this. I'll introduce a song/album/artist and try to write some connection to my appreciation (or lack there of) to this trio of possible subjects.



Here we go:


"One Of These Days" by Pink Floyd, appears on 'Meddle' (1971)

The first time I heard this song doesn't really matter. I remember hearing it on the classic rock radio station Starview 92.7 WSJW (around 1996), but the song never caught my ear. It just sounded like your regular classic rock instrumental. I took this song for granted. That was when I was 12 years old. Later on around 2003, after I graduated from high school without a single care in the world. I had just started working on the Blue Ball National Bank maintenence squad, and it was Summer 2003 (this time I'm 18 years old). At the end of that Summer sat my future. Rather clueless and wandering around with its eyes fixed upon the direction of Indiana, PA. I ignored it to embrace the Summer, like I normally do. I worked 40 hours a week at the good old BBNB and almost every single night that Summer you could find me at Mike Sauder's "Rumpus Room". What we did there on a regular basis was nobody's business, but what I did on an irregular basis at Mike's was unintentionally discover music in the attic of Mike's Dad's garage.
One day my friends, Mike (of the Rumpus Room) and Whit, were doing regular Rumpus Room activities and watching a DVD (that I would later discover to be 'Pink Floyd: Live in Pompeii'). As I was walking up the staircase to the Rumpus Room I heard a pulse-like bassline that seemed almost ridden by the producer on a kill switch bender. I was familiar with the sound, but I never bothered to connect it, till now. I asked Mike what was playing, and he ignored me for a few seconds till Nick Mason's voice came on over the speakers, Mike snapped his head in my direction and lip-synced, "ONE OF THESE DAYS I'M GOING TO CUT YOU INTO LITTLE PIECES!" to me. I dumped myself onto one of the old worn couches placed around the tv as he passed me something, with my eyes fixed on the television screen. I sat in on the climax of the song with the strong organ coupled with Nick Mason's quinecential drumming style. The latter of which would lead Whit to say something along the lines of, "Nick Mason is the rock and roll drummer" with Mike smugly agreeing. At that time my mind was blown with the heavy blasting Floyd.
Then (after some loud jamming) the song had ended like someone had pulled a plug on the band. All the instruments winding down like some piece of heavy machinery. It left my mind reeling as I looked over to Mike who (with Whit) was glued to the television screen.
"Play it again," I said.
"What?" Mike asked.
Whit barely acknowledged me, but registered my request. The song played through again. This time with my heightened attention. The wind in the opening whipped through my mind as I listened to the song. It left an echoed imprint so deep that I find myself humming the second half of the song haphazardly, bouncing around on the organ's notes, "Da-dah dah, dum-dum, da-dah dah, dum-dum...".
The second time was riveting. I forgot that the DVD had continued on and my was still reeling with that heavy space rock sound.
Later we went to Jennie's Diner to recoup, and that was a night in itself. The next day I scoured my (much smaller) music library to luckily find "One Of These Days" on the 'Echoes' greatest hits compilation. Instantly it became a mixtape centerpiece. It was long enough to enjoy, but short enough to throw on to any CD.

Writer's Notes: Unfortunately Starview 92.7 WSJW is now formatted under Smooth Jazz. I'm quite open to music styles and something about Smooth Jazz feels like a rip off. I'd rather listen to Miles Davis or Mahavishnu Orchestra. Or even better I'll research older Jazz musicians like Coltrane or Theolnious Monk.